Conrad,   Mary  Ljrnn. 


Confederate  Banrxers, 

i 


CR 
113.5 
.C6 
1908 


DUKE 
UNIVERSITY 


LIBRARY 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2015 


https://archive.org/details/confederatebanne01conr 


\  j 


Confederate 
Banners 


BY 

Harrisonburg,  Virginia 


/yj*^t)is  Kittle  paper  twa?  prepared  soieir}  for 
\!\^  a  montbl)?  meeting  of  (<JEurner  K^hhr} 
Cbapter,  WL,  5B.  C,  i^arrifionburo, 
iBirginia,  anD  ttjitf)  no  tbougbt  tJjat  it  tooulD 
elier  \ienture  beponb  tbat  little  circle.  €L  "^l? 
inliitation  of  the  Chairman  of  tht  i|i«torical 
<BUening,  it  ujas  read  before  tbe  Virginia  5^ilii- 
sion,  .^tate  Conliention,  SI.  55.  C,  at  Ricb- 
monb,  J^irginia,  and  tbere  elicited  tbe  request 
to  be  put  mto  booMet  form.  C  <&f  it  S  toould 
trulp  sap,  3  balie  gathered  me  a  pose?  of 
otber  men's  flottiers,  and  onlp  tbe  tbread  tbat 
binds  tbem  together  is  mine  oujn."     ::  :: 


®®NFID1MATE  MANNIM* 

BY 

Mamy  Lymm  Qqwrm 


iniii@Stt®ini©lPriffiiiiimg 


X  response  to  a  request  from  Turner  Ashby 
Chapter.  U.  D.  C.  I  have  taken  no  smaU 
pains  to  cuU  from  such  sources  as  were  avail- 
able to  me,  these  facts  relating  to  those  banners 
chosen  by  our  noble  fathers  as  ensigns  to  lead 
our  A'aliant  hosts,  during  the  days  of  the  South's 
great  struggle. 

In  the  usual  grouping  of  Confederate  Flags, 
we  see  four  designs.  Three  of  these  were 
Xational  Ensigns  and  one  was  the  Battle  Flag. 
I  shall  present  them  in  the  order  of  their  adop- 
tion. Avith  such  a  sketch  of  each  as  I  believe 
to  be  authentic  history. 

During  the  first  year  of  the  war  many  troops 
marched  out  luider  the  flags  of  their  respec- 
tive states,  just  as  our  own  A'irginia  troops  bore 
the  flag  of  the  Old  Dominion.,  which  was  pre- 
sented to  them  by  Governor  Letcher,  at  Center- 
ville.  in  the  fall  of  1861. 

But  the  first  flag  of  the  ''Confederacy'"  Avas 
knoAvn  as  ''The  Stars  and  Bars." 

This  flag,  correctly  made,  consists  of  a  red 
fleld  Avith  a  Avhite  bar  one-third  the  Avidth  of 
the   flag,   extending   through   the    center,  and 


6 


Co  ?i  federate  Banners 


having  a  red  space  above  and  below,  the  same 
width  as  the  white.  The  Union  blue  was  to 
extend  through  the  white  space  and  stop  at  the 
red  space.  In  the  center  of  the  blue  was  a  circle 
of  seven  stars,  uniform  in  size.  A  new  star  was 
authorized  for  the  addition  of  each  new  state  to 
the  Confederacy. 

The  Stars  and  Bars  was  raised  on  the  staff 
above  the  capitol  at  Montgomery,  Alabama, 
March  4,  1861,  simultaneously  with  the  inaugu- 
ration of  Mr.  Lincoln,  by  Miss  J.  C.  Tyler, 
granddaughter  of  ex-President  Tyler.  The 
United  Daughters  of  the  Confederacy  have' 
adopted  the  Stars  and  Bars  as  their  emblem ;  it 
is  found  upon  their  badge  and  other  insignia. 

Here  is  a  story  told  of  its  design  : 

In  the  Art  Studio  oi  Nicola  Marschall,  a 
Prussian  portrait  painter,  the  designs  of  the  uni- 
form of  gray,  and  the  Stars  and  Bars,  are  said 
to  have  had  their  conception. 

Years  before,  Marschall  had  been  impressed 
by  the  appearance  of  some  Austrian  siharp 
shooters,  marching  through  the  streets  of  Ver- 
ona, dressed  in  a  striking  uniform  of  gray.  Rec- 
ollections of  this  uniform  suggested  the  "Con- 
federate gray."  Just  before  the  war,  he  had 
returned  to  America,  located  at  Marion,  and 


Confederate  Banners 


7 


resumed  the  profession  of  portrait  painter  and 
designer.  Many  wealthy  women  of  the  South 
became  his  patrons,  and  among  them,  Mrs. 
Napoleon  Lockett,  a  beautiful  woman  of  an  old 
Virginia  family,  and  a  loyal  daughter  of  the 
Southland. 

After  the  secession  of  the  states,  she  told  Mr. 
Marschall  that  the  Confederate  government 
wanted  a  flag,  and  requested  him  to  make  a 
design  not  too  unlike  the  United  States  flag,  yet 
diftering  enough  to  be  readily  distinguished  at  a 
distance. 

Mr.  Marschall  drew  three  designs,  adhering 
in  all  to  the  stars,  the  stripes,  and  the  colors.  He 
claims  that  his  first  design  was  the  one  chosen 
by  the  Confederate  Congress. 

Mr.  Marschall  enlisted  as  a  private  in  the 
Southern  Army,  going  with  the  command  to 
garrison  the  fort  at  the  mouth  of  Mobile  Bay, 
and,  later  on,  serving  with  the  second  Alabama 
regiment  of  engineers.  He  served  with  Colonel 
Lockett,  son  of  Mrs.  Lockett,  just  previous  to 
the  fall  of  Vicksburg,  and  continued  in  the  Con- 
federate Army  until  the  curtain  fell  at  Appo- 
mattox. 

Mr.  Marschall,  however,  is  not  the  sole  aspi- 
rant for  the  honor  of  creating  the  model  for  the 


8 


Confederate    B  a  7i  n  e  r  s 


"Stars  and  Bars."  In  the  Confederate  Veteran 
of  November,  1905,  we  find  the  claims  of  Mr. 
Orren  Randolph  Smith  set  forth  by  his  daugh- 
ter. She  recites  the  incident  of  Mr.  Smith's 
taking  his  design  and  materials  to  a  friend,  now 
Mrs.  N.  B.  Winborne,  of  Pine  Top,  N.  C,  and 
requesting  her  to  make  a  model  illustrating  his 
idea.  According  to  Miss  Smith,  this  model  was 
forwarded  to  the  committee  on  flags,  at  Mont- 
gomery, and  was  adopted  by  the  Confederate 
Congress. 

Mr.  Smith  had  twice  fought  under  the  "Stars 
and  Stripes."  He  was  in  Mexico  with  General 
Taylor  and  in  Utah  with  General  Harney.  He 
said  that  a  flag  for  which  men  would  die  must 
be  more  than  a  piece  of  bunting.  It  must  mean 
something.  His  model,  he  claimed,  embodied 
the  idea  of  the  Trinity,  the  three  bars  represent- 
ing the  Church,  the  State,  and  the  Press.  The 
blue  of  the  Union  was  emblematic  of  the  heav- 
ens over  all,  and  the  circle  of  stars  of  equal  size 
represented  the  equal  rights  of  the  respective 
states. 

"But  neither  Mr.  Marschall,  Mr.  Smith,  nor 
Mrs.  Winborne  can  produce  any  documentary 
evidence — letters  or  newspapers,  of  that  long 
past  w^ar  time,  to  sustain  their  claims.    They  are 


C  0  11  f  e  d  t  }■  a  t  e    B  a  n  )i  c  r  s 


from  memor\-  onl\-.  and  that  is  often  unreliable. 
History  is  necessarily  cold-blooded,,  regarding 
neither  the  desire  of  friends  nor  the  detractions 
of  opponents" — and  vritli  claims  still  conflicting, 
slie  is  yet  unable  to  award  the  honor  of  this  beau- 
tiful l^anner  to  an  undisputed  author. 

While  the  ''Stars  and  Bars"  was  recognized 
as  the  National  Ensign  of  the  Confederacy  from 
A  [arch  4.  t86t  ,  until  ]\Iay  i  .  1863,  there  is  no 
official  record  of  its  adoption  by  formal  act.  Of 
the  one  hundred  and  thirty  designs  said  to  have 
been  sent  to  ^Montgomer}'.  the  "Stars  and  Bars'' 
was  the  one  recommended  bv  the  committee  on 
flags  and  seals,  and  the  recommendation  was 
spread  upon  the  minutes  of  the  Confederate  Con- 
gress, but  the  records  show  no  further  action 
taken. 

]\[v  main  facts  concerning  the  origin  of  the 
battle  flag,  tlie  second  flag  of  the  Confederacy, 
are  derived  from  a  letter  from  General  W.  L. 
Cabell  to  the  ]^cicran,  and  a  speech  by  General 
Beauregard  before  a  meeting  of  the  Louisiana 
Division  of  the  Army  of  Xorthern  A'irginia, 
December  6,  1878,  and  afterwards  written  up 
bv  the  trustwortliA'  pen  of  ^Ir.  Carlton  ]\IcCar- 
th}-.  He  savs :  "This  banner,  the  witness  and 
aspiration  of  many  A'ictories  which  was  proudly 


o 


Con  f  e  derate  Banners 


borne  on  every  field  from  Manassas  to  Appo- 
mattox, was  horn  on  the  field  of  battle.  It  was 
the  banner  of  the  Confederate  Soldier.  The  men 
who  followed  it,  and  the  world  which  watched 
its  proud  advance  or  defiant  stand,  see  in  it  still 
the  unstained  banner  of  a  brave  and  generous 
people,  whose  deeds  have  out-lived  their  country, 
and  whose  final  defeat  but  adds  luster  to  their 
grandest  victories."' 

At  the  battle  of  Manassas,  July  21,  1861,  when 
the  fate  of  the  Confederacy  was  trembling  in 
the  balance.  General  Beauregard  saw  a  body  of 
troops  moving  toward  his  left,  and  the  Federal 
right.  He  could  not  determine  whether  they 
were  Federals  or  Confederates,  on  account  of 
the  similarity  of  colors  and  of  uniforms,  and 
made  more  confusing  by  clouds  of  dust.  Gen- 
eral Beauregard's  uncertainty  and  anxiety  in- 
creased to  anguish,  as  the  column  pressed  on. 

The  day  was  hot  and  sultry,  with  but  an  oc- 
casional breeze.  The  colors  of  the  advancing 
column  hung  limp  about  the  staff.  General 
Beauregard,  still  relying  on  promised  help,  held 
the  ground,  believing  that  if  only  re-enforce- 
ments should  come  in  time,  he  might  secure  the 
victory. 

At  this  painfully  anxious  moment,  a  sudden 


Confederate  Banner 


puil  of  wind  spread  the  colors  to  the  breeze  and 
reA'ealed  the  Stars  and  Bars.  It  was  General 
Early  with  the  24th  Mrginia,  the  7th  Louisiana, 
and  the  13th  }^Iississippi.  The  moment  the  flag 
was  recognized,  General  Beauregard  exhorted 
his  staff  to  see  that  the  day  was  won. 

This  incident  made  General  Beauregard  "de- 
termine that  the  Confederate  Soldier  must  have 
a  banner  so  distinct  that  no  doubt  should  ever 
endanger  his  cause  again  on  the  battle  field."  He 
presented  the  matter  to  General  Joseph  Johnston 
and  other  officers.  Designs  were  cHscussed  and 
scA'eral  submitted  which  seemed  to  closely  coin- 
cide. At  Fairfax  Court-House,  thev  were  sub- 
mitted to  the  officers  and  the  now  famous  battle 
flag  was  chosen.    This  was  in  September,  1861; 

A  circular  letter  Avas  sent  to  the  quarter- 
master of  every  regiment  and  brigade  in  the 
army  to  make  flags  by  this  model.  There  were 
three  sizes :  One  for  the  cavalrv,  one  for  the 
artillery,  and  one  for  the  infantrv,  the  latter  be- 
ing largest. 

The  first  of  these  flags  were  distributed  by 
order  of  General  Beauregard,  and  with  ""the 
hope  that  they  might  become  the  emblems  of 
honor  and  victory.'' 

An  address  Avas  issued  to  the  ladies  of  the 


12 


Confederate    B  a  7i  n  e  r  s 


South  to  send  their  red  and  blue  silk  dresses  to 
Captain  Selph,  quarter-master  at  Richmond,  Va., 
who  was  assisted  in  the  flag  making  by  some 
loyal  Southern  ladies.  The  names  are  given  of 
the  Misses  Carey  of  Baltimore,  Mrs.  Henning- 
sen  of  Savannah,  and  Mrs.  Hopkins,  wife  of 
Judge  Hopkins,  of  Alabama. 

The  Misses  Carey  made  battle  flags  for  Gen- 
erals Beauregard,  Johnston,  and  Van  Dorn  out 
of  their  own  silk  dresses.  General  Beauregard's 
flag  is  now  in  Memorial  Hall,  New  Orleans,  with 
a  statement  by  him  of  that  fact. 

While  not  strictly  relevant  to  the  subject  in 
hand,  a  digression  relating  to  the  charming 
women  conspicuously  concerned  in  the  above 
transaction  may  be  pardonable  and  entertaining. 

"A  Southern  Girl  of  1861"  tells  us  that  the 
Misses  Carey  were  the  greatest  belles  among 
the  many  lovely  women  of  Richmond,  and  were 
known  as  the  ''Carey  Invincibles."  They  had 
experienced  many  thrilling  adventures  coming 
across  the  lines.  Miss  Constance  Carey  married 
Mr.  Burton  Harrison,  Private  Secretary  to  Pres- 
ident Davis,  and  has  since  attained  wide-spread 
note  for  her  clever  writing  of  fiction.  Miss 
Hetty  Carey  had  just  been  released  from  Fort 
McHenry  where  she  had  been  imprisoned  for 


Confederaie    B  a  n  ;/  e  r  s 


13 


wearing  a  white  apron  with  red  ribbon — the 
Confederate  colors.  (Jn  one  occasion  when  the 
Federal  troops  were  passing  throngh  Baltimore, 
she  stood  at  an  open  window  \A'aving  a  Confed- 
erate flag.  One  of  the  officers  noticed  it,  and 
called  to  the  Colonel  of  the  regiment  to  know 
if  he  should  have  her  arrested.  The  Colonel, 
catching  a  sight  of  her  defiant  loveliness,  said 
emphatically:  "Xo.  she  is  lovely  enough  to  do 
as  she  pleases.'"  She  afterwards  became  the  wife 
of  General  John  Pegram.  Avho  was  killed  in  bat- 
tle three  weeks  from  their  Avedding  day. 

The  original  design  of  the  Battle  Flag,  also 
called  the  Beauresrard  Flas;.  is  shoAvn  in  the 
archives  of  the  Southern  Historical  Society. 
Xew  Orleans.  It  was  dravrn  by  E.  C.  Hancock 
of  Xew  C^rleans.  and  presented  to  Colonel  \\2X- 
ton  of  the  Louisiana  Artiller}-. 

The  Battle  Flag  was  strictly  a  square  flag. 
The  St.  AndrcAvs"  cross  in  blue.  Avith  thirteen 
stars,  crossed  a  field  of  red  diagonally.  This 
is  the  A'eterans'  flag,  having  been  carried  by 
them  in  CA-er}-  battle  after  [Manassas,  and  has 
noAv  become  their  emblem.  "Though  sometimes 
defeated,  it  Avas  never  dishonored."" 

After  the  adoption  of  the  Battle  Flag,  other 
banners  began  to   disappear,   and,   at  the  end 


14 


Confederate  Banners 


scarcely  any  other  design  was  seen.  It  was  the 
only  flag  knowai  to  the  body  of  Confederate  sol- 
diers, though  it  was  not  officially  adopted  by 
Congress  until  it  became  incorporated  in  the  sec- 
ond National  Flag  and  adopted  by  formal  Act, 
May  I,  1863. 

When  the  Confederate  Congress  assembled  in 
May,  1863,  by  formal  Act  it  adopted  as  a 
National  Emblem  the  third  fiag.  It  was  pure 
white  with  the  Battle  Flag  as  its  union.  This 
flag  was  mostly  used  by  the  navy,  and  few  of  the 
soldiers  in  the  field  knew  it.  It  was  floated  from 
Military  Posts,  Garrisons,  and  on  the  sea. 

It  was  sometimes  called  the  "J^^^^son  Flag." 
The  first  one  made  by  the  model  was  sent  to 
President  Davis  to  be  unfurled  over  the  Capitol, 
but  it  served  a  holier,  tenderer  purpose — that  of 
enfolding  the  body  of  that  Darling  of  the  Con- 
federacy, Stonewall  Jackson,  whose  death  had 
just  occurred.  With  dismay,  the  superstitious 
observed  this  use  of  the  newdy-selected  flag,  and 
considered  it  ominous.  It  was  also  called  the 
''Stainless  Banner." 

"This  was  the  only  Confederate  Flag  that 
sailed  every  ocean  and  circumnavigated  the 
globe.  It  was  carried  at  the  peak  of  the  Shen- 
andoah in  the  most  masterly  cruise  that  the  world 


Confederate    B  a  n  ji  e  r  s 


has  ever  known  and  was  hauled  down  in  Liver- 
pool, six  months  after  the  war  was  over." 

The  whaling  fleet  of  the  United  States  was 
now  the  largest  part  of  its  commerce  remaining, 
and  the  Shenandoah  was  purchased  and  espe- 
cially fitted  up  to  make  war  on  the  whaling  ves- 
sels. Once  among  the  whalers,  she  took  prizes 
so  rapidly  that  it  was  necessary  to  release  and 
bond  some  in  order  to  get  rid  of  the  numerous 
prisoners,  and  she  made  a  record  that  became 
world-renow^ned. 

Operating  in  the  Arctic  waters,  so  remote 
from  the  scenes  of  battle,  it  was  no  wonder  that 
Captain  AA^addell  failed  to  haul  down  his  colors 
immediately  upon  General  Lee's  surrender,  but 
kept  them  flying  six  months  after  hope  was 
dead.  The  malicious  charge  of  his  continuing 
belligerent  operations,  after  having  knowledge 
of  the  surrender,  has  been  properly  refuted. 

Reasons  suflicient  were  presented  to  create  a 
fourth  flag.  There  were  errors  of  proportion  in 
the  third  flag,  the  length  being  double  its  width, 
which  is  against  all  rule,  and  will  not  float  read- 
ily. Both  Navv  and  Army  had  ascertained  that 
from  excessive  whiteness,  it  was  too  easily  soiled. 
Naval  officers,  by  whom  it  was  mostly  used, 
urged  that  it  was  liable  to  be  mistaken  for  a  flag 


Confederate  Banners 


of  truce,  especially  when  hanging  limp  with  the 
union  obscured  by  its  folds. 

The  fourth  and  last  flag  oi  the  Confederacy 
was  adopted  .March  4,  1865.  It  was  designed 
by  Arthur  L.  Rogers,  Major  of  Confederate 
States  Artillery.  His  design  was  submitted  to 
the  committee  on  Naval  affairs,  committee  on 
Military  affairs,  Superintendent  of  Virginia 
Military  Institute,  and  many  distinguished  offi- 
cers of  the  Army,  all  of  whom  approved  it.  A 
bill,  drawn  by  Major  Rogers  and  introduced  into 
the  Senate  by  ^Ir.  Semmes  oi  Louisiana,  con- 
tains this  description  of  the  flag :  "The  width 
two-thirds  the  length,  with  the  union  (now  used 
as  Battle  Flag)  three-fifths  the  width  of  the  flag, 
so  proportioned  as  to  leave  the  length  of  the  field 
on  the  side  of  the  union  twice  the  width  of  the 
field  below  it.  To  have  the  ground  of  the  uniom 
red  and  a  broad  saltier  thereoii,  bordered  with 
white  and  emblazoned  with  mullets  or  five- 
pointed  stars,  corresponding  in  number  to  the 
Confederate  States.  The  field  to  be  white,  ex- 
cept the  outer  half  from  the  union  to  be  a  red 
bar  extending  the  width  of  the  flag."  Its  adop- 
tion occurred  such  a  short  while  before  the  sur- 
render that  it  was  never  in  use  in  the  Army, 
but  many  were  captured  (?)  on  the  evacuation 


Confederate    B  a  7t  n  e  r 


of  Richmond,  read}-  to  be  sent  to  the  arm\ .  It 
is  sometimes  incorrectly  made  with  a  narrow  red 
bar.  which  should  be  as  wide  as  the  white  space. 

It  is  a  matter  of  regret  that  in  the  manufacture 
of  these  flags,  there  is  such  diversity  of  propor- 
tions, as  Avell  as  other  errors.  I  have  given  in 
detail,  description  of  designs,  that  as  Daughters 
of  the  Confederacy,  we.  at  least,  may  recognize 
those  that  are  true  to  the  model  or  otherwise. 

Of  ]^dajor  Roger's  design  for  the  last  flag  of 
the  Confederacy,  he  says  :  "It  gave  correctness 
of  proportion,  distinction  and  character,  relieved 
the  pale  appearance  and  gave  a  martial  look,  and 
really  made  a  beautiful  banner  that  could  be 
mistaken  for  no  other.  The  heraldic  significance 
of  the  colors,  chieflv  white  and  red,  were  deemed 
especially  appropriate  for  the  Confederate  States, 
the  white  being  emblematic  of  purity  and  inno- 
cence, the  red  of  courage  and  fortitude.  The 
saltier,  or  broad  band,  was  emblematic  of 
strength. 

In  the  adoption  of  ensigns  bv  various  nations 
of  the  world,  it  is  noticed  that  thev  generally 
imitate  the  ensign  of  the  nation  from  which  they 
sprung.  This  is  so  complied  with  in  the  Con- 
federate flag,  for  our  people  are  chiefly  descend- 
ed from  the  British  and  French.    AA'e  get  the 


Confederate  Banners 


union  and  St.  Andrew's  cross  from  the  former, 
while  the  red  bar  comes  from  the  tri-color  of 
the  latter."  The  idea  of  having  the  stars  to  rep- 
resent the  sovereignty  oi  the  states  is  taken  from 
the  old  "Union,"  mainly  founded  by  our  fore- 
fathers. 

Major  Rogers,  the  author  of  the  last  flag  of 
the  Confederacy,  was  a  brave  soldier  who  per- 
formed the  most  important  services  throughout 
the  war.  He  raised  a  company  of  artillery  from 
Loudoun  County,  Virginia,  which  was  honorably 
mentioned  for  efficient  service  by  General  Beau- 
regard in  his  report  of  the  first  Battle  of 
Manassas. 

Associated  in  our  minds  with  the  group  of 
Confederate  flags  is  another  banner,  which  we 
all  know  through  that  Marseillaise  of  the  South, 
''The  Bonny  Blue  Flag."  Just  how  it  came  to 
be  recognized  as  a  Confederate  emblem  is  a  mat- 
ter not  satisfactorily  settled,  but  a  little  incident 
relating  to  it  may  be  of  interest  to  us  Virginians. 
It  is  given  in  the  minutes  of  the  U.  D.  C.  Con- 
vention, 1 90 1,  as  told  by  Captain  P.  C.  Carlton. 

"In  October,  1861,  when  Richmond  was  full 
of  troops  hurrying  to  the  front,  this  song  was 
first  sung  at  a  theater.  Harry  McCarthy  ap- 
peared on  the  stage  accompanied  by  a  young 


Confederate    Ba  71  tiers  iq 


lach"  who  bore  a  flag  of  blue  silk  with  a  Avhite 
star  in  the  center.  He  commenced  singing*  'The 
Pionny  Blue  Flag/  and  before  the  first  verse  was 
ended,  the  vast  audience  Avas  wild  with  excite- 
ment. Then  the  soldier  bovs  rose,  yelling  them- 
selves hoarse  and  joined  in  the  chorus,  singing 
it  over  and  over  again. 

AMien  he  sang,  'The  Single  Star  of  the  Bonny 
Blue  Flag  has  grown  to  be  eleven,'  she  shook 
out  the  folds,  and  the  flag  opened,  disclosing 
the  single  star  surrounded  by  ten  sisters." 

Several  states  lav  claim  to  the  flag  that  bears 
a  single  star.  Texas  and  Xorth  Carolina  each 
has  a  single  star.  The  latter  has  it  combined 
with  other  characters,  but  no  state  can  claim 
the  blue  flag  with  the  single  star. 

Harry  ^NlcCarthy,  the  gallant  little  Irish  come- 
dian, no  doubt  evoh^ed  it  from  the  enthusiasm 
of  the  time.  South  Carolina  may  have  given 
him  the  idea  that  he  wove  into  a  song,  which, 
next  to  the  immortal  "Dixie."  is  likely  to  sur- 
vive longest  the  period  that  inspired  it. 

In  compiling  this  paper,  I  duly  acknowledge 
information  gained  ixoxr.  nninutes  of  the  United 
Daughters  of  Confederacv  Conventions,  The 
Confederate  IMuseum,  Richmond,  A^a.,  The  Coii- 
fcdcraic  Veteran,  The  Magaz'uie  of  the  Southern 


20 


Confederate  Banners 


Historical  Society,  Dabney's  Life  and  Campaigns 
of  General  T.  J.  Jackson,  and  other  authentic 
pubHcations,  as  well  as  to  distinguished  indi- 
vidual Confederates.  But  to  no  one,  personally, 
am  I  so  much  indebted  for  information  courte- 
ously furnished  and  data  confirmed,  as  to  Dr. 
Samuel  E.  Lewis,  Commander  Charles  Broadway 
Rouss  Camp,  U.  C.  V.,  Washington,  D.  C.  As 
Chairman  of  the  Flag  Committee,  U.  C.  V.,  he 
has,  perhaps,  more  accurate  and  complete  data 
on  this  subject  than  any  other  one  person,  and 
is  regarded  as  eminent  authority. 

This  task  has  been  a  labor  of  love  tO'  me,  yet 
I  feel  that  I  have  all  too  imperfectly  given  you 
the  history  of  that  group  of  banners— made  by 
the  fair  hands  and  baptized  by  the  tears  of  our 
mothers,  drenched  in  the  gore  of  our  fathers,  and 
brothers,  whose  very  warp  and  woof  are  radiant 
with  deeds  of  valor,  and  whose  only  stain  is  the 
blood  of  our  heroes.    Yes,  the  Confederate  Flag 

"  Is  wreathed  around  with  glory 
And  will  live  in  song  and  story, 

Though  its  folds  are  in  the  dust. 
For  its  fame  on  brightest  pages. 
Penned  by  poets  and  by  sages. 
Shall  go  sounding  down  the  ages. 

Furl  its  folds  tho'  now  we  must." 


Duke  University  Libraries 


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